TOMORROW X TOGETHER Grow Strong with New Album “7TH YEAR: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns”
K-pop trailblazers TOMORROW X TOGETHER enter a brand new era, seven years after their debut, with 7TH YEAR: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns. Released on April 13, their first EP of the year opens a new chapter for members SOOBIN, YEONJUN, BEOMGYU, TAEHYUN, and HUENINGKAI. With each new release, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, or TXT for short, continue to explore a wide range of sounds and genres — and 7TH YEAR is no exception. The six-track record is their first Korean EP since they renewed their contracts in August of 2025, committing to another seven years of TXT.
A Moment of Stillness
In TXT’s new narrative world, emotional struggle, particularly anxiety, becomes both their enemy and their driving force. Instead of escaping from these painful feelings, TXT explore what it means to confront and live with them. Anxiety is not treated as abstract, and is instead visualized as black “thorns” — a constant, uncomfortable presence impossible to ignore.
This concept is further expanded through TXT’s promotional campaign for 7TH YEAR: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns, where they launched a fictional, fully functional website designed to resemble an online storefront. The Anti-Anxiety Club Store features a catalogue of “products” marketed as cures for anxiety, each priced unrealistically high. Despite its seemingly comical shopping format, the website serves as a subtle critique of the idea of seeking quick fixes for inner pain, reinforcing the album’s overarching theme of confronting rather than ignoring struggle.
The opener of the album, “Bed of Thorns,” immediately immerses listeners into TXT’s world with its electronic, alternative -pop sound. The track captures a moment where relief and pain coexist, beginning with a fleeting sense of calm. Powerful vocals punctuate the groovy bassline and psychedelic synths throughout the whole song. However, even this “stillness” is pierced by a constant, stinging awareness of anxiety. This culminates in the defining statement of the song’s post-chorus, where TAEHYUN sings, “I made my bed of thorns, I willingly lay my body down.”
Is This a Dream?
Anxiety and self-doubt can often blur the line between holding on and letting go. As the title track of 7TH YEAR: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns, “Stick With You” portrays a relationship on its last hinges, where both sides feel exhausted and drained, yet remain unable to call it quits. Built on an electro-pop foundation with 909 drum patterns and techno-punk elements, the track blends nostalgic tones with an underlying sense of urgency and yearning.
TXT, unwilling to accept an ending, linger in the bargaining stage of grief. HUENINGKAI opens the track with the desperate plea: “Stay with me, just one more day, then one more / I can’t let you go / I’ll just stick with you.” The lyrics showcase their raw desperation to stretch time only to delay the inevitable. Each “one more day” becomes less about hope and more about their fear of abandonment. The distorted echo of “Is this a dream” in the song’s background leaves us suspended in their same uncertainty, blurring the line between reality and denial.
The music video brings “Stick With You” to life through a cinematic, dream-like drama. Washed in a muted palette of dark grays and blues, the atmosphere is heavy and sorrowful. The five members are shown through sharp, restless camera pans, anxiously chasing after their lover – portrayed by South Korean actress Jeon Jong-seo – who appears to be drifting away with someone else. There are brief moments of warmth that break through the grays, such as an intimate scene where each of the members is dancing together with their beloved in the rain under soft, golden lighting. However, the sequence is abruptly cut short, snapping back into solemn reality like waking up from a perfect dream. It’s in this moment that the song’s point choreography is revealed: sharp tutting resembling the turning of a clock.
From Neverland to Nirvana
TXT dial it back for “Take Me To Nirvana,” featuring Chinese singer-songwriter Vinida Weng. The track is a combination of industrial runway music and deep house beats that make for an ethereal listening experience. All five members sing alongside Weng of entering a different world, free from “earthly worries” and swaying emotions. The vocals, layered with harmonies and heavy reverb, pair with the driving dance beat to bring the lyrics to life. Like a siren call, the song implores the listener to break free from what holds them back and live in the moment to achieve “nirvana.”
Up next, “So What” is a confident hybrid of hip hop and R&B track that shrugs off self-doubt and others’ thoughts in favor of pushing forward and chasing dreams. Whether others criticize their dreams or the members themselves are overwhelmed by worries, so what? “I direct this / this life of mine,” BEOMGYU asserts in the first verse, “Because this itself is my movie / everyone else but us is extra.” It’s an unapologetic declaration of self-conviction. The intro and refrain repeat the phrase “Everybody wants somebody who makes you somebody.” The members of TXT make it clear throughout the track that you have to be that somebody.
Onward and Upward
Slow tempo track “21st Century Romance” opens with an engine that sputters to life before blending into the underlying beat of the first verse. The unique opening matches with the genre-melding track. “21st Century Romance” shifts between power ballad and western, complete with a twangy guitar and flourishing chorus. The song centers on the effort to push through the noise of modern-day life and find genuine connection. “Twenty-first century romance,” SOOBIN sings, forlorn, “We, who even embrace emptiness.” Between endless scrolling and technology overload, the members attempt to “tune the frequency” and find their own voices.
TXT double down on their dreams in “Dream of Mine.” They fearlessly push forward in this pop-rock track, full of curiosity and wanderlust. “On a map with no roads / chasing the unknown / dream of mine,” YEONJUN declares in the opening line. “I am curious about what comes after this.” It’s a song fit for the open road, for those ready to face life with all its triumphs and defeats, no matter where it takes them. As the closing track on the EP, “Dream of Mine” sets the tone for TXT’s journey forward.
Out of the Thorns, Into the World
With 7TH YEAR: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns, TXT turn anxiety and self-doubt into something to be embraced, creating a narrative where pain becomes an essential part of self-growth. Not only does this new EP showcase another side of their artistry, but it also stands as one of many love letters to their devoted fans, MOA, and a reaffirmation of their bond as five moving forward together.
As TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s journey continues to unfold, fans should keep their eyes on what’s to come as they continue to expand their new world with MOA. In the meantime, the five members are set to headline KCON LA this August for the first time, marking another milestone in their growing global presence.
Step into TXT’s world of thorns by listening to 7TH YEAR: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns, now available on music streaming platforms. Don’t forget to follow TOMORROW X TOGETHER on Instagram, X, TikTok, and Weverse to stay updated on what they have in store next.
In the mood for a trip down TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s memory lane? Check out our album breakdown of The Star Chapter: TOGETHER!
